I am often asked about my outfits both when and I am in the parks and when I get back and post photos. So, I thought it might be a good idea to share my Disney trip wardrobe rundowns in a blog when I get back. (Sorry this one is excessively late)

We arrived on the Friday lunchtime and didn’t actually go into the parks until the evening event. The event we were attending was the Hollywood Tower of Terror 10th anniversary party which was specifically for Annual Passholders. When it was announced that we could attend in 1930s fancy dress, I couldn’t resist! I made myself an off the shoulder floor length navy sequin gown and Mark wore a dinner suit with a mickey bow tie and cummerbund. (A full review of the night is in an earlier blog post)

Saturday was my Pirates day! I knew that the Pirates and Princess season was starting this weekend and decided to support the pirates team with my outfit this day! I made this dress and ears with pirate themed fabric I purchased on eBay

With my pirate (close up of ears)

Easter Sunday is always my fave Disney day of the year, For as long as I can remember Easter Sunday brunch is Alice in Wonderland themed! This means all my fave characters and usually my Cheshire Cat makes an appearance too 😍

This year I decided to wear my Queen if Hearts themed dress from Be Ba Go the interaction from characters was amazing. I had the best day!

Finally on the Monday Mark and I decided to wear our Muppets outfits. My dress and Mark’s shirt were made by the lovely Kaz at Frockasaurus and I made the ears to match myself

I hope you have enjoyed seeing what I wore on my latest trip! What was your fave one?

I have been intending to do this post for some time and it wasn’t until I sat down to write it that I realised that I would need to break it down into a few blogs!

Going to any Theme Park as a Plus Size person can be a daunting prospect, I know before I came to DLP for the first time I spent ages googling to see what I could find out about rides, walking distances, waiting lines and anything else I could think of that might pose a problem for me. There really wasn’t very much information. I’m hoping to help with that here on my little blog.

A bit about me

In case you’re wondering what qualifies me to speak on this subject, I’ll let you know a few things about me. I’m just over 5ft 6″ tall, am a size 32/34 top half and a size 26/28 bottom half so am very much more top heavy in my Plus Sizeness. I would qualify as a ‘super fat’ within the given names we have for ourselves in the Plus Size community and have always been in that scale since visiting Disneyland Paris. My fitness isn’t amazing, although that’s something I’m working to improve. I have attended the parks whilst recovering from DVT so can advise in a ‘less mobile’ capacity too.

This is what I look like in my happy place

Before you go

The first question I think you need to ask yourself when booking a trip to Disney is where do you want to stay?

A day on your feet in a Disney park is no laughing matter, especially when you are larger than the average person. So where you stay and the distance you have to travel at the end of a long park day, with painful Disney feet, is something to seriously consider.

When you decide to book Disneyland Paris you will see that there are six ‘on site’ Disneyland Paris hotels to choose from as well as many ‘partner hotels’ which are near the resort.

The Disneyland Hotel is the closest (and most expensive) of all the hotels. It’s the beautiful pink building that makes up the entrance to the parks and is by far the most convenient of all the hotels.

To get from the parks to any other hotel is initially an uphill walk through fantasy gardens into the Disney village. Once in the village you can turn left and exit towards the train station where there are bus stops to take you to all of the other on site hotels, as well as many of the partner hotels. Should you choose to walk to your onsite hotel, you go through the village and out to the right hand side of the lake to go to;

The Newport Bay Club, this is approximately a slow 15 min walk from the park. The hotel has been recently refurbished and for design and comfort is the nicest hotel after the DLH in my opinion.

You turn to the left hand side of the lake to go to;

Hotel New York, this is approximately a slow 10 min walk from the park. This hotel is a business centre so is not to everyone’s taste, it is being refurbished later in 2018 though and will have a Marvel theme

Sequoia Lodge, this is approximately a slow 15 min walk from the park. This hotel appears to be a family favourite. It has a wooden lodge design and a lovely bar with a huge open fire.

Cheyenne (Cowboy/Toy Story Themed) and Santa Fe (Mexicans/Cars Themed) are also available to walk to, but as I have never done it I cannot tell you how long it would take me. I have always caught the on site bus when staying at these hotels, both of which are the budget options for Disneyland Paris.

All of the on site Disney hotels have disabled access, disabled/adapted rooms and the buses are wheelchair accessible. I have had no issues with any of the beds in the on site hotels, they are adequately sized and comfortable. They all have over bath shower facilities with those annoying shower curtains that stick to you. The baths are small, I doubt I would fit comfortably laying down but have never tried, all of the baths have handles to help with access though. Overall, they are easy to access and adequately sized as a shower facility, again I have had no issues with the bathrooms or toilet facilities in the on site hotels.

In the Parks

Accessibility

I hate that the first thing I have to list is a negative thing, but the very first obstacle you will encounter as a Plus Size visitor to DLP are the access turnstiles. Now, the ones at the entrance to the park aren’t to narrow, I can fit through them sideways without issue. There is an alternative to the turnstiles though as there is a door in the middle of each set of turnstiles, some cast members will notice and offer you to go through, others you may need to ask, but I’ve never found it a problem.

While we are on turnstiles, you will notice that they are a continuous nightmare throughout the parks. Access to some rides is via turnstile, these turnstiles are smaller than the ones at the entrance to the parks. I can fit through them on tippytoes sideways but it’s a bit of a squeeze. You can ask the CM if you can go through the access gates instead if you are worried you won’t fit.

Turnstile bruises are something you accept as a Disneyland Paris fan, my legs are always bruised after a trip!

Getting around

Be prepared to walk for miles and miles on an average day at a Disney Park. Disneyland Paris’s two parks are relatively flat so you won’t be trekking up and down hills or steps constantly but even flat walking can take its toll when you are a plus sized person.

Should you struggle with the walking, you are able to hire a wheelchair at Disneyland Paris, if you have an infinity Annual Pass this is a free service, you just have to pay a deposit which is returned to you. There is a daily fee if you do not have an annual pass though and the seats on the wheelchairs are quite small, if you may need a chair to assist you during your trip, I would advise bringing your own.

Disneyland Paris do not have a relationship with a company offering mobility scooters, there are some which will bring one to your hotel for you to use though this site seems to the be the one that most people use. Please be aware that they do not offer mobility scooters for anyone over the weight of 18 stones, so you may need to bring your own. Also, mobility scooters cannot be left unattended so if they need charging during the day, you will be required to stay with the device as it charges.

Walking around the park there are plenty of benches, tables and chairs for you to rest on should you need to, It is also allowed to sit on the pavements when waiting for parades and shows. Queue lines often don’t have anywhere to sit/rest/lean, these are the times I feel the fatigue the most. Standing still can put a lot of pressure on your feet and joints as a Plus Size person, in some instances you may be able to sit off to the side and join your party nearer the front of the queue, however, many rides will not allow this. If you have a physical condition which hinders you standing for a long Period then you may apply for a disability pass which will allow you to be given a return time equivalent to the time you would have waited in the queue. You will need a Dr’s letter to be considered for one of these passes.

To prevent you getting blog reading fatigue I am going to stop this part of the blog here! The next parts of the blog will cover; the accessibility of rides at Disneyland Paris, show and parade access, plus size shopping at DLP and the Disney Village.

I hope you have found this section useful and come back for future instalments!

With Love

Alyssa xxx

** This blog is entirely made up of my personal experiences and opinions, you may find that your experience differs from mine as we are all different shapes and sizes. I have been as transparent as I can be about my size and shape but please do contact me if you have any further questions **

Be prepared to make that choice a lot during the Spring season at Disneyland Paris this year!

Festival of Pirates and Princesses runs from 31st March until the 31st May 2018. I was lucky enough to experience the opening weekend of this lively new season so thought I’d give you all a run down of my thoughts!

Let’s run through a day in the Pirate and Princess schedule …

So, What’s new?

The Pirates vs Princess Parade/Show “Disney Pirate or Princess – Make your choice” which runs 4 times per day.

The Princess Promenade with Elena of Avalor and Sophia the First which runs 4 times per day.

Hoist the flag Mateys with Captain Jack Sparrow which runs 6 times per day.

Meet and Greets with characters throughout the Park and various locations

Disney Stars on Parade which runs daily at 5pm and

Disney Illuminations Which is at park closing daily.

Positives

The Spring Season is back with gusto at Disneyland Paris!! A fully interactive day packed full of fun, colour, music and entertainment is what you can expect from this season if you are attending . The atmosphere throughout the park when so many shows are happening during the day is electric, with the entire parade route being used as well as the castle stage and the hub – there is always something to see.

‘Disney Pirate or Princess – Make your choice’ – WHAT A SHOW! This parade has everything you could want from a Disney show; Beautiful colourful floats, Princesses, Pirates, Mermaid Ariel 💜, dance routines, live singing, acrobatics, audience interaction, amazing costumes, Prince Mickey, Pirate Minnie … it is AMAZING. There are three key places to watch this parade. Each team stop and perform a brief show on the way into the Hub, the team heading down from Small World stop at the castle stage and the team heading up from Town Square stop on Main Street. The team in each location alternates each show. The floats then head into the hub where the teams then do dance routines on the stages. Please be aware, whilst the centre of the hub is an amazing viewpoint for all the stages, you cannot get out of the hub until the parade has moved on. This show/parade was by far my highlight of the season, I could easily watch all 4 shows every day and see something different each time.

The Princess Promenade is cute, it confuses me slightly why they are not included in the parade as Jake the pirate has been incorporated into the pirates section of the show, but their dance through the park is well received and the younger children seemed to really enjoy seeing them out as they are rarer characters that are aimed at the younger audience.

I personally loved that despite having so many shows throughout the day in the theme of the season, they have still kept 2 showings of the Happy Anniversary show. I love this show on the castle stage and even though I’ve seen it many time I still watched it this trip because I love it!

Seasonal treats have been released, one of my friends sampled the Princess cupcake and said it was delicious, there is also a Pirates version. Other seasonal releases include the Cinderella carriage popcorn bucket, a Princess candy apple and Princess vs Pirate ice cream cones! I do love themed treats!

Negatives

Hoist the flags mateys … well, I’m not sure if it was opening weekend teething issues but what a shambles. There is limited access for viewing each show and frankly what you do see isn’t worth the bun fight to get a spot in my opinion. However, this was my only disappointment of the season.

In summary …

I went into this season expecting to hate it because it was replacing my beloved Swing into Spring, but was pleasantly surprised how much I actually loved it.

For me, Pirates and Princesses is taking Spring back to where it was a few years ago in DLP, a vibrant engaging season which keeps you entertained throughout the park all day long.

Bravo to the wonderful entertainment team who make these shows so high energy and engaging. It’s impossible to cast compliment the entire show/parade crew and performers but they are the guys that provide the magic of bringing the season to life.

Keep up the good work DLP, if the Marvel Summer Of Super Heroes is a patch on this season then we have lots of magic to look forward to!

The availability of Plus Sized Disney clothing is pretty crappy in the UK. This means that I end up spending hours lusting over American sites which have extortionate shipping fees and then on top of that customs fees when the items finally arrive. That being said, it doesn’t stop me doing it and I thought I’d share some of my fave items online at the moment

We had some good news in the UK when EMP UK opened here. This is an app which brings clothing from American stores to the U.K. so we can get clothing from Torrid and Hot Topic without the shipping fees. The prices tend to be higher as a result but that’s to be expected. Unfortunately at the moment the plus size availability is limited so I have only included items that I enjoy which come in a size 26/28 and above – so would fit me!

Plus Size Disney clothing in the U.K. Is near impossible to find (unless you want Jammies – but who wants to wear Jammies in public?!) so I am addicted to window shopping the US sites. Forever hoping to catch the 50% off international shipping days!

I thought that you might like to see the items I am lusting after at the moment, let’s start with Torrid.

I think that’s more than enough to give you an idea of what’s available!

Both websites offer 50% off international shipping occasionally, if you are signed up to their mailing list then you will be informed when that offer comes around. Please do be aware that you are likely to be hit with customs charges though – which can be just as much as the 50% you saved on shipping!

What clothing collections are you loving that are available at the moment?